Kolkata Rape Case: FAIMA, AIIMS Call Off Strike After SC's Assurance; Medics Thank Top Court

Several developments came about in the rape and murder case of the trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Here are the major developments of August 22, Thursday:

• The Supreme Court on Thursday perused the status reports of the probe from both the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

• The SC urged doctors to call off their strike and resume work, saying that justice and medicine cannot go on strike. The top court's observations on the doctors' protest was welcomed by medics across the nation, following which medical bodies like AIIMS and FAIMA called off their strikes.

• In wake of the terrifying Kolkata doctor case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking stringent legislation and punishment for offenders in crimes against women.

• CBI revealed the findings of the pyschoanalysis profiling of the accused in the accuse, civic volunteer Sanjay Roy. An agency official said that the report indicated Roy to be a pervert, addicted to porn and having an animal-like instinct.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, saying that the case raises systemic issues regarding the safety of doctors across the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the matter on Wednesday. The apex court resounded the country's voice and said, "The nation cannot wait for another rape for things to change on ground."

The matter will be heard today i.e. on August 22 (Thursday). The CBI and the state of West Bengal will submit their progress reports in the case to the top court.

The West Bengal government removed three senior officials of the RG Kar hospital, bowing to the demand of junior doctors who have been protesting against the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee in the state-run health facility.

As per their demand, RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal doctor Sandip Ghosh, who was shifted to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital as its principal, was also removed from that position, Health Secretary NS Nigam said, PTI reported.

The three senior officials of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) were transferred to various state-run health facilities, he said.

Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) has moved the Supreme Court seeking interim protection for doctors till the recommendations of the National Task Force (NTF) constituted by the Court are implemented.

"It is of utmost importance that there is adequate representation from the Resident doctors since they are experience the real time problems on a routine basis and may be in a position to offer a real time solution to these problems. Involvement of the resident doctors will ensure that comprehensive guidelines are formed after holistic discussion with all stakeholders," the plea said while also seeking implementation of the Central Protection Act for the safety and security of the doctors.

The Bombay High Court has taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur town of Maharashtra’s Thane district.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan will take up the matter for hearing on Thursday.

The alleged sexual assault of the two kindergarten students by a male attendant had sparked a massive protest in Badlapur on Tuesday. The authorities on Wednesday suspended internet services in the town.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) detectives on Wednesday conducted technical tests on the vehicle used by the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, in connection with their probe into the rape and murder of a woman doctor inside the medical establishment, an officer told news agency PTI.

They also questioned the driver of the vehicle that Ghosh was using as the principal of the RGKMCH, he said. "Forensic experts have examined the vehicle to find out the details of its movements. We are also trying to know whether the vehicle was used to carry something. We have also spoken to the driver of the vehicle to find out the details," he told PTI. 

The CBI on Wednesday continued quizzing Ghosh for the sixth consecutive day as a part of their probe into the murder, he said. 

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday participated in a candlelight protest in Kolkata demanding justice for the doctor.

His wife, Odissi dancer Dona Ganguly and daughter Sana, accompanied him in the rally taken out in the evening in Behala area where they reside.

Ganguly, who did not speak to the media, was seen lighting candles after finishing the rally.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday paid a visit to the residence of the woman doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical Hospital.

Bose, who returned from Cuttack, went to the doctor's residence in North 24 Parganas district straight away from the airport and spoke to her parents, PTI reported.

"I have listened to both the parents. I will be writing to the chief minister in a closed envelope. They told me certain things, confidential now," Bose told reporters.

Visuals from RG Kar Medical College & Hospital where the students have been protesting against the sexual assault and murder of a woman post-graduate trainee (PGT) doctor on August 9.

Former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh arrived at CBI office on Thursday, in connection with ongoing probe into woman doctor rape and murder case.

This comes after CBI on Wednesday conducted technical tests on the vehicle used by the Ghosh.

On Thursday, Abhishek Banerjee, leader of the Trinamool Congress party, spoke out about the number of rapes happening in India. He said that in just 10 days, there were 900 rapes across the country.

Supreme Court begins hearing on suo motu petition on the rape and murder of a doctor in state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal

Supreme Court says let the health professionals return to work and once they return to duties the court will prevail upon authorities to not take adverse action.

Supreme Court says how would the public health infrastructure function if doctors did not return to work.

"Poor people who come to these organisations cannot be left behind in the lurch. There are people who take appointments two years before the date and suddenly you are told you cannot be attended to. Let them all resume work," CJI Chandrachud said while hearing the notice on PGI Chandigarh doctors.

Supreme Court asks how will public health infrastructure run if doctors do not work.

The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud goes through the status report filed by the CBI on the ongoing probe.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the CBI alleged that the agency took up the investigation on the fifth day and the crime scene was "altered".

The West Bengal government denied the claim saying “everything was videographed” and it has the timeline of each event.

SG: We didn't know there is such report, we entered the investigation on the 5th day, everything was altered 

Kapil Sibal: Everything is videographed not altered 

SG: MOST SHOCKING FACT, FIR IS REGISTERED AT 11;45 PM AFTER THE CREMATION 

Justice Pardiwala: What time was post mortem performed? From your records.

Kapil Sibal: 6:10 pm to 7:10 pm

Justice Pardiwala: When you took the dead body for PM then was it a case of unnatural death or not.. if it was not unnatural death then what was the need of PM..? When you start doing PM then it is a case of unnatural death.. UD case of 861 of 2024 as registered on 23:30 hours and FIR was registered at 23:45. is this record correct?

Sibal: UD was registered at 1:45 pm

SC: How do we reconcile these two reports.. postmortem precedes registration of UD.. This is surprising. Please speak to some officers, if this is the fact then this is...

(Kapil Sibal is representing the West Bengal government)

Justice Pardiwala: Please keep a responsible police officer present here... we have yet not got an answer as to when was UD case registered.

Sibal: Page 2 of the case diary..

Justice Pardiwala: Ok, tell us when was the inquest panchama done?

Sibal: 4:20 to 4:40 pm

Court: Report in our hand reveals that UD case registered after inquest panchnama and post mortem.

Sibal: No.

(Inputs from Bar and Bench)

CBI officer addressing the Court.

Justice Pardiwala: Ma'am, please read in your mind.. The page 2.. and tell us is this correct?

CBI: This based on GD entries and it is correct.

Court: Now the see the time stated.. show us the GD entries.

Sibal: They are showing GD of entire day.. if you see magistrate report.. UD time is mentioned.

Justice Pardiwala: The procedure followed in criminal law by the police is not something CrPC follows or I have seen in my 30 years. so is it true that post mortem was after UD report..

Sibal: No, that is not correct.

(Inputs from Bar and Bench)

Justice Pardiwala: Who is the assistant superintendent of police? Her conduct is also very doubtful.. Why did she act in this manner?

Sibal: She is a female.

CJI: Now see in your document.. GD entry is at 5:20 am, received info from the hospital that the lady was lying in half naked condition at 10:10 am, medical board opined there is possibility of forceful sexual penetration.. and GD entry shows the cordoning of area is after the Post mortem...

Sibal: The post mortem report, the seizure list all has the UD case report time and number. Even the inquest report has it. all in case diary.

Bench goes through documents.

Sibal: All before 8:30 pm.. then how can at 11 :30 pm.. original CD also given to CBI...?

SG: We will revert on this

Note: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta is representing the CBI (Prosecution) in the case, while Kapil Sibal is representing the West Bengal Government (Defence).

CJI: We can form a view now on movement of police officers, when body was seen... When police came.... UD report... then post mortem report.. then cremation and then FIR. It matches with the FIR also now.

Sibal: Exactly.

SG: Please see UD was actually at 11:30 pm..

Sibal: No no.. show the video CD then.

SG: Please read the general diary entry... come to the next page.. after return to Police Station an UD case has been registered at 11:30 pm earlier was only a GD entry.. that is the chronology

Sibal: This is all just muddy the waters and that is what you are doing.

(Inputs from Bar and Bench)

Sibal: Why are we moving away from what happened in the investigation.. ?It was the father of the deceased who did not permit the filing of FIR.

Justice Pardiwala: Show us the post mortem report..is UD 861 mentioned..?

Sibal: On the first line..

CJI: Ok, then UD was already done.. before post mortem.. then why did IO said at what happened at night - UD, etc?

Sibal: Because it was just recorded, on what all happened during the day.

(Inputs from Bar and Bench)

CJI: We have post mortem report before us.. let us not use social media to make submissions in court.

Sibal: I have a serious issue in hand.. I'll hand over the affidavit in court now and also only to SG Mehta.. Only to him. Please go through.

Sibal: If a protest is there.. then atleast tell the state and when they carry flags... it becomes a stick and then there are collateral events happening.. there are photos now.. please see the status report and see how a standard operating procedure is needed.

CJI: We will come back after lunch and see the Kolkata police report

Following the Supreme Court's order, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) took over the security of Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital on Thursday.

A man has been arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in a village here, officials said on Thursday. Police said the incident happened on Wednesday afternoon.

The accused has been identified as Alok (25) from the Bhimpura police station area, but he was living with his maternal grandparents in the village, they said.

An FIR was registered on the complaint of the victim's mother on Wednesday evening following which the accused was arrested, Station House Officer (SHO) Vipin Singh said. Further investigation is underway, he added.

Sibal: Investigation was done in accordance with law.

CJI: What is the reason why - A. the FIR is lodged almost 14 hours after the discovery of-?

Sibal: We asked the parents, they said they will give a formal complaint milords. That is all in the records.

CJI: Principal of the college should have come straightaway to the college and directed the filing of the FIR. Who was in touch with?

Sibal: As far as we are concerned, we have followed the procedure.

Sibal: You are focusing on State of west bengal and not the investigation

CJI: Let the investigation go on by CBI into the death and let Kolkata police probe the vandalism. We never said that normal law procedure will not be followed. Only that do not arrest for only protesting.

(Inputs from Bar and Bench)

• CJI: We have received status reports by CBI and Kolkata police. Kolkata police is probing vandalism at the hostel after protest at the site. It appears from the record that a request for conducting polygraph test has been submitted of the accused to the ACJM Sealdah and it is under process. The ACJM sealdah shall pass orders on this application no later than 5 PM on August 23, 2024

• CJI: We direct secretary in Ministry of Health in the Union of India to open a portal in the Ministry website where stakeholders can submit their suggestions before the committee.

• CJI: Mr Sibal submits that while this court has permitted peaceful protests, it should not be misconstrued to mean that the State cannot lawfully use its power. This Court has not injuncted the State from exercising the lawful powers entrusted by law but we categorically reaffirm that peaceful protests shall not be disturbed or disrupted and the State shall not take any action against those peacefully protesting against the RG Kar incident.

• CJI: All States and UTs shall ensure that States can prevent any apprehension of violence at medical establishments. SG states CISF has been deployed at the RG Kar medical college.

(Inputs from Bar and Bench)

CJI: Let the doctors resume work and then come back to us and tell us..

Order: An apprehension has been expressed by the doctors that some of them are being proceeded against with respect to protests that happened in past. We have been assured that doctors will return back to work.. and let there be no coercive action be taken against doctors after they come back to work after the date of today's order. No adverse action against doctor after they resume work for any protest that happened before the date of today's order.

CJI: Justice and medicine cannot go on strike. Can we go and sit outside the Supreme Court now?

SG Mehta: A sitting minister of the State of, when they say fingers pointing towards Mamata Banerjee will be chopped off-

Sibal: Oh yes and leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari has said bullets will be fired!

CJI: Please do not politicise the situation. Parties have to realise. The law will take its course and we are ensuring that the law does take its course. Second, we are also concerned about the safety and welfare of doctors. For the future, we want to institutionalise it. We are not just going to lay down guidelines, we are going to pass enforceable directions, so that the recommendations of the task force will be implemented by the State governments and hospitals under authority of Union government.

CJI: Please assure the doctors, we are concerned about them, that they have to work for 36 hours ... All of us have family members, relatives who have gone to public hospitals. I have slept on the floor of a public hospital when somebody in the family was not well. We have gone through that, we have seen the doctors working for 36 hours.

The Indian Medical Association on Thursday decided that it will file an interlocutory application to intervene in the Supreme Court's suo motu case on the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The IMA headquarters is also preparing the documents to appear before the task force formed by the top court to formulate a protocol for ensuring safety and security of healthcare professionals.

AIIMS doctors have called off their 11-day strike after receiving assurance of justice and safety from the Supreme Court on Thursday.

CISF DIG K Pratap Singh told reporters, "You can see we have already deployed. You will find us deployed in all the shifts. Let us do our job. It will all happen, just wait and watch."

AIIMS New Delhi Spokesperson, Dr Rima Dada, spoke about a committee formed by AIIMS regarding the safety of doctors and said that daily meetings are being held with Resident doctors and Students' Union.

"A 4-member committee has been formed to address their safety concerns under the chairmanship of Dean Academics and a 15-member has also been formed which will conduct an internal collaborative security audit," Dada said.

"Not only AIIMS but the outreach campuses of AIIMS, such as our rural health primary health centre, de-addiction centre, national centre and cancer institute, will be thoroughly inspected in the morning and night. Director has assured all doctors that their safety and security will be given top priority. Doctor duty rooms will have locks and security guards will be posted there, so all these things will be taken care of during the work," she added.

RDA AIIMS Delhi President, Dr Indra Shekhar Prasad, said, "We are doctors. We provide public service and we want to continue our main service. We never want to go on a strike...But the incident at RG Kar was so gruesome and it exposed the safety and security lapses in our health system. So, we had to go on a strike."

"This was not easy for us. Strike was more difficult for us than duty. But Supreme Court gave direction and formed a task force...We appreciate this and hope that there will be justice in RG Kar incident...We will resume our duties at the earliest," Prasad added.

BJP workers are staging a protest against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the West Bengal government as to why a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed a year after allegations of financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital first emerged.

Former deputy superintendent of the state-run medical college hospital Akhtar Ali moved the court seeking an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against its ex-principal Sandip Ghosh over alleged financial irregularities during his tenure there.

Ali claimed that he had reported Ghosh's alleged financial irregularities to state authorities in 2023.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rising occurrences of crimes against women, seeking set-up of fast-track courts for speedy trials in such cases.

A junior doctor at AIIMS Doctor appreciated the Supreme Court's observations over the doctors' protest.

"Doctors are demanding just one thing that the SC listen to our grievances and bring some ruling for us, they have formed the national task force. Things have started and we hope that everything will be fine. The beginning was not good, but the end must be good. We thank the SC," the junior doctor said.

"It's a problem for the entire India as junior doctors are the backbone of the hospitals and if they will sit on the protest, it will create problems for the patients. But, our intention was not to create any problem, SC has heard our voice and it'll have good results," she added.

News agency ANI, citing CBI sources, reported that the central agency has approached court for permission to conduct a polygraph test on former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, and four other doctors.

The agency has also brought Ghosh to its Special Crime Branch at CGO complex in Kolkata's Salt Lake area.

Issuing a notice, the Lady Hardinge Medical College said that it keeps faith and trust in the judiciary and thus officially calls off its strike which began on August 12.

FAIMA has decided to call of its strike after positive directions from the Chief Justice of India. The top court, during the hearing of the rape and murder case of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, urged doctors to call off their strike, return to work, and attend to the waiting patients.

The apex court assured them of justice in the case along with proper security for medical professionals.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has received the court's permission to conduct a polygraph test on former RG Kar Medical College Principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors, news agency ANI reported citing CBI sources.

Medical Education Director Dr Kaustav Nayek said, "The new principal has joined...It (deployment of CISF) depends on the situation. They will leave one the situation is fine...Everything will be fine. Let the principal settle down, a plan will then be formed."

"I will speak after that...The entire faculty met the principal. A few students came to us, we spoke with them. The students will speak with the principal tomorrow. CISF is doing its work...(They (junior doctors and medical students) will come back, they will come back after the final hearing of the Supreme Court. They will speak with the principal," Nayek told reporters.

West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's remark not to politicise the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and accused the CBI of presenting misleading facts before the top court.

"We don't want to comment on what the apex court has said as the matter is sub-judice. However, we welcome the Supreme Court's observation asking political parties not to politicise the matter and directing the protesting doctors to get back to work. Some political parties are trying to politicise the incident, and the CBI is attempting to mislead the public with distorted facts," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.

The TMC leader also said the state government will adhere to the court's instructions.

"Political parties that have been attempting to politicise the incident for their vested interests should now learn their lesson," he added.

The psychoanalytic profiling of the arrested accused Sanjay Roy, in the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, indicated that he is a pervert and severely addicted to porn, a CBI officer said.

The federal agency officer, quoting doctors from New Delhi's Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), said that Roy had an "animal-like instinct". | READ MORE HERE